Untitled
by Crysania
Summary: A mistake was made, a marriage rendered null and void...a what if story. Takes place at the end of AWE. Serious spoilers for the end of the movie!


Will was the captain of the _Dutchman_. Will…was the captain…of the _Dutchman_. Her Will, so sweet, so alive, had had his heart cut out and had bound himself to the _Dutchman_ for all eternity, and now she was married to a living legend, a man who was not quite a man anymore.

_What had she done?..._

It had happened in the heat of battle. She hadn't been thinking clearly. No…that was not quite true. She had been thinking; she had been rash; she had gone for something she had always wanted and yet didn't know if she wanted it anymore.

_The grass is always greener, love…_

She could almost hear his voice, _Jack's_ voice, in her head, telling her with a smirk that she had made a mistake.

No…she had not made a mistake. How could marrying Will, the man she had loved since she was just a little girl, be wrong? It was what she had been working hard for all these years, ever since she had fallen from a parapet and ended up rescued by one Jack Sparrow (_Captain _Jack Sparrow…). She had gone back to rescue Will multiple times, always ignoring her father's wishes, always ignoring the pirate's code. _Nevermind the fact that usually you ended up rescuing Jack as well …_

"Congratulations, Mrs. Turner." Her mind returned to the present time as she turned and faced one of the crew she had gotten to know recently.

"Thank you Ragetti." She smiled softly at him.

He nodded, his gawky neck bobbing up and down like some sort of awkward bird's. He bared rotted teeth as he grinned. Not that long ago, she would have cringed over the sight. It was amazing how quickly her sensibilities had changed.

"Miss Swann…" She heard a throat being cleared somewhere behind her and she turned to face the voice.

"Captain Barbossa, you of all people should know it's Mrs. Turner now." She teased and she waited for him to respond in kind.

"Well, actually, _Miss Swann_." She raised an eyebrow. "There be a slight problem with your wedding, such as it were."

A cold feeling spread through the pit of her stomach, creeping around and gripping it in a vise-like hold. "A problem?" Her voice went dangerously soft.

"Aye, missy. A definite problem. Two…actually, if your wanting to be accurate." He sounded generally sorry as he explained to her the exact problems. There were no witnesses to the marriage. There had been many people around, but no one knew a wedding was taking place among them. He assured her that wasn't the biggest problem. It was something most would look past and some would even volunteer to claim they were the witnesses. But the main problem, and one he couldn't look past was that he had never pronounced them "man and wife." He had gotten distracted and looking into the code, he discovered that was a most important part of the wedding. Without those words, the marriage was not complete. "Therefore, you're still Miss Swann."

Elizabeth looked around her at all the faces that were now turned down in frowns. Some couldn't meet her gaze. Only one man solidly met her gaze and as their eyes collided, she found she wasn't able to look away. What she saw there, even for a moment, halted her breathing for a moment.

Relief… 

She saw relief in those eyes. And then the mask fell down upon his face once more. She was left wondering if she had actually seen it. Was Jack Sparrow _relieved_ that she was not married to Will?

He stepped off his perch near the rail and moved over to her, swagger in full force. "Well, darling, maybe it _would_ work out between us after all." He leaned in toward her, dark eyes meeting hers, mouth so close she could almost taste it…again.

"Jack." She shook her head.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, a sad smile. "I know, love." Leaning in even closer, he brushed his lips across hers, just a feather-light touch of one set of lips to another. Her whole body tingled as she tried hard not to lean into that slightest of kisses.

Then he was gone and she was left facing the rest of the crew. She looked around at the stunned faces, one set of eyes after another shifting away from hers just as her gaze touched theirs. She nodded…not to anyone in particular, but more to Jack's last statement, more to his last kiss, more to…something.

"Elizabeth?" She heard Will's voice. How could she turn and face him?

"Will…" She rushed to the side of the ship and looked down into the long boat. Will raised a hand to her, the smile on his face fading.

"Are you coming with me?"

She hesitated, turned briefly back to the crew and watched as they scattered quickly, trying to act as if they weren't paying attention to the drama playing out nearby.

"There was a problem, Will…with the wedding." How do you tell someone that your marriage was a sham, not completed, not real?

"Go on." His voice was tight.

The words came out in a rush and her eyes closed against the sight of Will, for she knew this was sure to be one more blow to a man who had already dealt with so much recently. "Captain Barbossa didn't finish the wedding. He didn't pronounce us husband and wife. We're not married."

He repeated her last sentence. She kept her eyes shut, trying to gage his reaction without having to actually face him. Did he sound angry? Worried? Relieved? Was yet another man _relieved_ she was not married? Her eyes flew open.

"Then you are free, Elizabeth." Will sat back down in the longboat, his shoulders curled inward. Reaching for the oars, he started to move the boat backward toward the _Flying Dutchman_.

"Will…wait!" Her voice was tight and high, almost more of a screech. Frantic…she felt frantic. "You can't just leave me!"

He stopped rowing and turned to face her. "Elizabeth, don't you see? You're free to be the Pirate King. You're free to find your own ship and sail, to someday find love with a man who can stand at your side everyday of every year, not just once every ten years."

"Your heart…"

"I'll bury it somewhere myself." He turned back to the boat, his eyes briefly falling on the chest that contained his still-beating heart. "It belongs to no one but me." And with that, he sat back down in the long boat and with sure, swift strokes, rowed himself back to the Dutchman.

Elizabeth watched through dry eyes, starting until he was just a speck on the water, staring until the ship plunged deep into the ocean's waters, staring until there was nothing on the horizon to remind her of Will anymore. And then she stared some more, watching the way the water moved away from the boat, studying the play of light on the waves.

Will was gone. She would likely not see him again.

"Elizabeth…" The voice behind her was tentative. She turned to face Jack, her head swimming with the sudden movement. He held a hand out to her and without even thinking, she placed hers into it and allowed him to pull her away from the rail. She didn't want to think anymore. She _couldn't_ think anymore. Her mind numb, her heart numb, she did the only thing she could do at that moment. She took a step closer to Jack, wrapped her arms around him and felt him slowly do the same. Briefly she held herself tight to him and then let go and walked away.

"Elizbeth." Jack's voice…again. She turned back to him. "Go lay down."

She started to speak, to protest. She wanted to hide away from everyone, not curl up on a hammock in the crew's quarters.

"Use my cabin. I'll stay on deck." She nodded, an almost imperceptible smile appearing for a moment, and then she turned and walked away, retreating into the darkness of Jack's silent cabin.


End file.
